Charter school will help local students excel: Our View

A proposed charter school will help train central Wisconsin students in science and technology.

There are a lot of issues in education that become contentious and partisan pretty quickly, but here's one that should not: America needs to step up its training of students in science and technology fields. A planned new public charter school in Nekoosa, the Central Wisconsin STEM Academy - that's science, technology, engineering and math - aims to do exactly that by helping students from grades four through seven to immerse themselves in a science-based curriculum that will put them on a path to succeed in fields like engineering, advanced manufacturing and much more.

The Central Wisconsin STEM Academy would help fill a need employers say they have, and it would offer students a chance to develop skills and learn in a different environment. The concept of charter schools is one that can improve the entire education system, by giving educators opportunities to try out innovative models of teaching and intensive focus on subject matters. And since charter schools are public schools, they offer innovation while also side-stepping some of the hard debates about funding and evaluation of private schools.

The STEM Academy is in the process of completing its planning grant, and there remain a number of details to be worked out. But we think it holds real promise for the region. We're enthusiastic about having the academy join our local school system, and we'll look forward to hearing more from its leaders as their planning continues.

Listen to public on redistricting

Several weeks ago, Gannett Central Wisconsin Media participated in a statewide push that included nearly a dozen newspaper editorial boards demanding legislative hearings on bills that would reform the way Wisconsin does redistricting, the process by which politicians design the voting districts they think will be most favorable to them and their political parties.

This is not a complicated issue. Partisan gerrymandering of the kind we saw in 2011 is a danger to our democracy. We cannot allow politicians to choose their own constituents.

Despite calls from constituents, from good government groups and editorial boards, no hearings have been scheduled on redistricting reform.

But we aren't about to give up. Let your representatives in Madison know that we're watching them, and we will remember how they handle this issue, or how they choose to ignore it.

Join our Editorial Board

Daily Tribune Media is seeking community members to serve on our Editorial Board. You will be involved in Editorial Board meetings and email discussions that determine the agenda and positions of this page's "Our View" editorial columns - and you will be helping to push forward a bigger community conversation, too. We will hold in-person meetings once a month during business hours, and we'll keep up a conversation on an email listserv outside of those meetings.

We want to hear from people with diverse backgrounds and beliefs, but you must have an open mind and a willingness to listen as well as add your own opinions.

If you're interested in learning more, email Opinion Editor Robert Mentzer at rmentzer@gannett.com with "Editorial Board" in the subject line.

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Charter school will help local students excel: Our View

There are a lot of issues in education that become contentious and partisan pretty quickly, but here's one that should not: America needs to step up its training of students in science and technology

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